U.N. Says Climate Change Will Affect Food Supply

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warns of the negative effects of climate change on global agriculture.

Nov 07, 2006

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says the difficulties of feeding the growing global population will be worsened by climate change.

Speaking at the opening of a U.N. climate change conference in Nairobi Monday, FAO Representative Castro Paulino Camarada of Kenya told the conference's scientific and technical body to pay more attention to the potential effects of climate change on agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The FAO points to biofuels, especially with technologies allowing the efficient conversion of more types of biomass into fuel, as part of a solution as both a clean fuel and a way to raise farmers' incomes and improve food security.

"There is likely to be a significant transition toward biofuels during the next 50 years, with agriculture and forestry among the leading sources for both liquid and solid fuels," Camarada says. "Although there is no single solution for all countries, bioenergy has a role to play in both climate change adaptation and mitigation."